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The New York Times bestselling classic of a young woman’s journey in work, love, and life“In this swinging, funny, and tender study of contemporary relationships, Bank refutes once and for all the popular notions of neurotic thirtysomething women.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Truly poignant.” —Time

Generous-hearted and wickedly insightful, The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing maps the progress of Jane Rosenal as she sets out on a personal and spirited expedition through the perilous terrain of sex, love, relationships, and the treacherous waters of the workplace. Soon Jane is swept off her feet by an older man and into a Fitzgeraldesque whirl of cocktail parties, country houses, and rules that were made to be broken, but comes to realize that it’s a world where the stakes are much too high for comfort. With an unforgettable comic touch, Bank skillfully teases out universal issues, puts a clever new spin on the mating dance, and captures in perfect pitch what it’s like to come of age as a young woman.

“Melissa Bank accomplishes that hardest of simple things: She shows life as it is—and makes it readable.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Writing literature that mixes comedy and tragedy in the proper amounts is not an easy task. Only a handful of contemporary writers (Joseph Heller, Ann Tyler, and John Irving come to mind) can do it with any success. Whether dealing with serious issues or mundane, Bank proves that she has what it takes to stand in such august company.” —The Denver Post

“Crafted by a gifted writer, a descendant from the school of restraint whose grandfather is Hemingway and whose father is the early Raymond Carver. The presiding mother figure is Lily Tomlin.”—The News and Observer

“Only a few authors have successfully blended the compressed nature of short prose with the novel’s greater panorama of character. Melissa Bank brings similar energy and style to her new book.”—Chicago Tribune

“I read the first chapter and thought, ‘Wait, I know this girl.’ By the second, I realized she was my friend. She did all the things that good friends do: she made me laugh, she made me weep, and when I closed the book at the end of the day, I knew I’d never forget her.” —Ruth Ozeki, New York Times bestselling author of A Tale for the Time Being and My Year of Meats

“Courageous and wise, as heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny as only the most deeply true fiction can be. Melissa Bank writes with a fine eye, a clean voice, and a generous heart.” —Pam Houston, bestselling author of Sight Hound and Cowboys are My Weakness

“A compassionate comedy of manners, pitch-perfect . . . Bank’s people are fully realized and, just like us, fond, foolish, blind, and wise by turns and in ways both tenderly familiar and refreshingly odd.” —Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of Away and Lucky Us

About the Author

Melissa Bank is the New York Times bestselling author of The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing and The Wonder Spot. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, and Zoetrope, among other publications, and has been heard on National Public Radio and featured at Symphony Space in New York City. Bank holds an MFA from Cornell University and is the winner of a Nelson Algren Award for short fiction. She divides her time between New York City and East Hampton.

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Someone gave this to me when I was a teenager, and it was like a light in the dark, murky world of insecurity and dating. The author is an incredibly versatile writer, mostly following the life of one character (Jane) but weaving in other stories as well. Overall the theme is about looking for love and dating, but instead of the usual "woman seeks Mr. Right and finds him at the end," the main character very frequently has to say goodbye to men she loves, because she is with them for the wrong reasons or it just doesn't work out. The book, and her story, isn't ultimately about finding Mr. Right at all - but about maintaining integrity as a person in the awkward, self-conscious quest that is dating.

The second-person-voiced chapter on overcoming breast cancer was over my head as a teenager, never having experienced any health problems of my own. I was mostly struck by the unusual shift in narration. Someone who has been through an experience like that will find it incredibly meaningful - and familiar. "Too late, you realize that your body was perfect - every healthy body is."

I love this book, even (especially) upon re-reading it. It's more like a series of connected short stories focused on a particularly character (two of them not even from her point of view). When the chapters are in the protagonist's (Jane's) point of view, it is very witty, in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. The first chapter (my favorite) is about Jane's view of her brother's first serious girlfriend and how that impacts her views on relationships and identity. A later chapter, written (ambiguously) from another character's, contemplative, of view, is about being with someone who loves the idea of being with you, rather than you. The last chapter (that shares a title with the book) is about playing at dating like a game instead of being yourself. Even though the book is mainly about romantic relationships, it's also about relationships in general and how those relationships affect your sense of self.

THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING is not a novel. It's a series of stories (some that had been published previously) centering on Jane Rosenal, starting from the age of fourteen through middle age. Each story reveals something different about her, puts her in different situations, and in nearly every single story, it is told with a lot of wit and sassy humor. I found myself chuckling through some of the earlier stories, and found myself empathizing with her in another story (about her father dying from cancer).

I don't know of any other way to describe this "novel". It isn't a novel and so there was no climax or high point at the end of the last chapter. However, I did feel a sense of "ending" with that last story, feeling that maybe Jane had finally found someone that she may love for the rest of her life, or maybe as she said "We are just two mayflies mating on a summer night". Very profound.

My overall feeling about this "book" is that I loved it, mainly because it is not what I had expected. With a title such as THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING, I expected a tale centering on a teenage girl living in Wisconsin, for instance. What I did not expect was a coming-of-age series of short stories, chronicling the life of one woman from New England, along with her desires, thoughts, and opinions. I found it unique and it kept my attention throughout the entire book.

The middle story, which many readers have questioned, bothers me as well. But, from what I feel after reading this book, it was just a "lull", a transition story, in which Jane had moved into her deceased aunt's apartment, and it signified a big change in her life (her starting her relationship with her aunt's friend Archie). It was a rather weird blip in this series of stories, and that is only my guess as to why it appeared in the book. Other than that, I have no real complaints about THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING. With that said, I don't think this is a book that any reader can enjoy. One needs to be in a certain frame of mind, and come to the book not expecting anything in particular, or you may be disappointed.

First, let me say that the wildly divergent opinions on this book are fascinating. Rarely does one see so many 1-star and 5-star reviews for the same book. I myself thought it was great, although I probably would give it 4.5 stars, only because I thought that some of the endings were a bit loose. What puzzled me however is how many reviewers compared this book to Bridget Jones' Diary, some (but not many) considering it better, and others (the vast majority of those comparing) considering it not nearly as good. To me, other than the very last (title) story, which was admittedly quite reminiscent of Bridget Jones, the rest of these stories bore almost no comparison whatsoever. Whereas Helen Fielding's book (which I liked) was more of a farcical, slapstick, riotous, go-for-the-laugh-every-second type of book, I felt that the humor in this book, while certainly abundant, was more wry and not (unlike BJD) its raison-d'etre. I thought this book was deeper, broader, more instrospective and thought-provoking. In any event, I would recommend it highly.

I liked the narration in this book and felt like I would be friends with Jane if she were real. Her voice made me smile as I read. The structure of the book is interesting but potentially confusing if you put the book down for too long. I enjoyed the book overall but don't think it will really stick with me, as it is a little forgettable.